by Katrina Fausnaugh, Arts Management Intern
This spring semester at the museum, a new exhibition opened featuring a collection of photographs from the museum’s permanent collection. The exhibition was curated by the University’s own senior Art History capstone class (a class I was in!), under the guidance of Professor Pepper Stetler. The exhibition, titled Subjective Objectivity: Documentary Photography as Fragments of Experience, explores the function of photography as a document that claims to present a truthful account of an event, a person, a place or a time. It explores the truthfulness and authenticity of photography as a form of documentation, and how the perception of a photograph as an artistic medium (and so a creative endeavor, involving the element of choice on the part of the photographer) impacts its function as a document. And here are the students behind this excellent new exhibition!
The creation of the exhibition was a collaborative effort between the eight students; we did everything from selecting the photographs, grouping them and arranging the layout, to writing all of the text in the exhibit. Each member of the capstone was responsible for researching and writing object labels for two photographers whose work appears in the gallery. Personally, I focused on the domestic-violence series of photographer Donna Ferrato as my main research topic, with Fritz Klemperer’s beautiful hand-colored photographs as a secondary topic. Each of us conducted extensive research on one photographer and wrote an original research paper on a chosen aspect of their work. So, if you find yourself wanting to know more about any of the following photographers in the exhibit, one of the capstone students is an expert on their work! Anne Noggle was researched by Hanna, Vito Acconci (Maren), Donna Ferrato (Katrina), William Pennington (Kim), Judy Dater (Kathryn), Nan Goldin (Kelsy), Alen MacWeeney (Ann), and Arthur Fellig (Cristina).
I encourage everyone to come see Subjective Objectivity in person! It is on display in McKie gallery at the Miami University Art Museum through June 25.